Universal Studios Fire Spares Wisteria Lane

Hollywood was dealt a major blow early Sunday morning when a fire broke out at Universal Studios and ripped through the lot, destroying millions of dollars worth of videos and film reels, and some legendary movie sets and exhibits.

Desperate Housewives and Ghost Whisperer use the backlot at Universal Studios as one of their filming locations and while Wisteria Lane survived the fire, the latter wasn't quite as lucky. E! Online reports that two exterior sets of Ghost Whisperer sustained substantial damage. The loss of the two sets isn't expected to delay production of the series.

The fire broke out along New York Street, which has been used as a backdrop for TV show such as Monk and House. The fire raged on for 12 hours before more than 400 firefighters were able to extinguish the flames that burned high enough to be seen for miles.

The cause of the fire has been ruled an accident. Studio crewmembers had used a “blow torch to apply asphalt shingles to the roof of a building facade.” The work was completed around 3:00 a.m. and after standing watch for an hour, they went on break. A security guard spotted the flames around 4:45 a.m. and immediately called the fire department.

Nobody was seriously injured in the fire, all 30 sound stages remain intact and the famous New York streetscape will be rebuilt.

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